


Fire Flies

by WormholesandPegasus



Series: We Are Consumed By Fire [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: 68th Hunger Games, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, District Twelve, Gen, Original Characters are not important, They do not have a significant role in the story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24240538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WormholesandPegasus/pseuds/WormholesandPegasus
Summary: Katniss is fifteen when she is reaped for the Sixty-Eighth Hunger Games. Her little sister Prim is watching with her mother, ineligible. There are no volunteers that day.Katniss fights, and the world shifts just a little because of it. There is no choice, she will do her best to survive.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen & Gale Hawthorne, Katniss Everdeen & Original Character(s)
Series: We Are Consumed By Fire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1772578
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	Fire Flies

**Author's Note:**

> There are a few age changes in the story:  
> Katniss and Gale are five years older than they are in the original universe and Madge and Peeta are both three years older.
> 
> Hey! I posted part two! Check it out!

When Katniss turns eleven her father gifts her a bow that he whittled from an old branch. 

He says it is so they can get out in the forest more often. 

Her mother knows it's not. The games follow everyone and it there is a chance it could be her daughter next.

It is, but just not as immediate as she imagines.

When Katniss turns fifteen she is reaped for the 68th Hunger Games.

She stands tall and doesn't let her fear show through her features. She'll need that if she wants to win.

The boy who is called does the opposite. His name is Tam Cohlfred. He's a weedy fourteen-year-old from the Seam. He doesn't stand a chance, but then again, does she really have one either?

She has to come back for Prim, no matter what the odds are. Her mother cannot shut down again. Prim likely wouldn't survive that.

So she keeps her brave face on to say goodbye. She cannot be afraid.

Katniss' reunion with Prim is a warm one. Her little sister immediately latches on to her torso.

"You have to win, Katniss," She whispers, "You have to win." 

And Katniss knows that. She knows.

She kneels down to meet Prim in the eyes, "Don't worry, little duck. I'll be back for you."

"Katniss," her mother starts. 

She had been standing at the door for the entire time Katniss was speaking to her little sister. Katniss didn't even know she was there.

She doesn't let her finish, "You have to be there for Prim while I'm in the arena. No leaving our world like you did when Dad died.”

Katniss pauses. “Because I'm coming back, but it might take months and Prim will need your help. You can't just tune her out." Katniss is tearing up at the end of her rant. She is starting to shut down.

Stunned, her mother nods weakly and motions for Prim to leave.

"Goodbye Katniss."

Katniss manages to wheeze out "Goodbye Prim."

Madge is easier. The girl is two years younger than her. If Katniss didn't have Prim she would say that Madge is the younger sister she never had.

Despite being the daughter of the richest and most powerful man in town Madge is sweet and tender. She's one of the only girls Katniss feels like she can talk to.

The thirteen-year-old girl is in a little red dress. Tears run down her cheeks. She presses a pin in Katniss' hands.

"You better come back, you better come back!" She scolds. 

"You better tell me who you are dating when I come back," Katniss replies.

Madge stops crying and smiles, "It's a secret."

"For now."

"For now," Madge wipes the tears off her face. Her father calls her from down the hall and she turns to leave.

They make eye contact and she is gone.

Last is Gale. It's almost as bad as Prim but in the opposite way.

The two of them spend the beginning of their time talking about how he can help her family. The rest is just strategy.

"You go right up to the game-makers and shoot that bow for your independent. Remember not to participate in the bloodbath they'll pick you out because you're an outer district. You've got this." 

Gale shakes her hand when his time is up, "I'll see you after."

She nods.

Tam is a quiet boy, but he's nice to Katniss. The two exchange a few words on the train but otherwise say nothing.

Haymitch turns up drunk as usual and Effie complains but otherwise, it is uneventful.

Katniss sits and plans. She is still in her clean reaping dress so she is surprised to hear the crinkling of paper in her pockets. She wouldn’t have any paper bills in the pockets.

It's a note from Gale. There's a series of knots and snares on it. At the bottom, he had written: "Go get 'em Catnip." Once again Gale saves the day.

"What'cha got, kid?" Haymitch slurs. He's standing over her shoulder. His breath rasps on her neck.

Katniss balls it up in her hair, "None of your business."

"Well, honey, that piece of paper could help me save your life," he furthers.

"Some snares and traps."

Haymitch snatches the paper out of her hands, "This is good work. Whoever Gale is, he knows what he is doing. These are nice." He smiles, a toothy thing that may just be genuine. “Sweetheart, it looks like you have a shot at this."

"Thanks," Katniss replies in the most sarcastic manner she possibly can.

Haymitch frowns, "Look, I can help you out if you want but you need to cooperate and lose that attitude. You won't get any sponsors if you act like this."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"You should."

It is official, Katniss loathes every singles person from the Capitol. Effie is in a gray area. Her stylist and crew suck.

She has never been more uncomfortable in her life as when they pluck every single hair off of her body. She is washed and dried and roughed up in general. 

Of course, once she is clean they dirty her up again. In accordance with tradition, the District Twelve tributes are dressed in ugly coal miner uniforms which aren't even accurate. The stylists think they know more about mining than people who live in Twelve. Typical Capitolites.

She scowls in the chariot while Tam smiles sheepishly. 

They are nicknamed "the Opposites from Twelve" hours later.

Katniss is upset. So naturally, Effie tells her it's good publicity and Haymitch calls it karma.

She is starting to warm up to Effie. The woman hates her manners, but that can be tolerated. She is so positive and Katniss is not used to that from people. Most of the people she knows are people that Effie would call the grouchiest people she has ever met.

It is on one of these rants that Tam leaves the room to go to bed and get away from the complaining. Effie soon follows, leaving Katniss and Haymitch.

"I'm going to help you no matter how hard you resist," he states. "I'm sick of you sitting there and hiding things. I can help you and you might just need it.

"Do you have any skills, sweetheart?" He asks.

"Archery."

"How good?"

She tilts her head, "I'm the one who shoots the squirrels you can buy in Twelve."

"Good, good," Haymitch laughs, "You save your little archery tricks for the personal assessment. Work on those traps with what they give you in training but do not show anyone that you have that cheat sheet. Keep it in your room. I don't know what the Capitol would do to you if they saw you had it."

Katniss nods, still processing the information. "Alright. I'll do it."

She finally leaves to go to her tribute quarters.

The next day is training and Katniss sees one plus of this year. This year's career pack is fragmented. Its clear time see.

The tributes from One and Two hate each other, and Four could care less. The six of them spend their first few minutes of training yelling. If it wasn't hilarious, Katniss would feel bad for them. They'll likely all fall apart at the arena.

The first knot she is working on is a snare with a figure-eight knot. It's complicated but she thinks she remembers it from the sheet that Gale gave her. She had to leave it behind because of Haymitch's warning.

Over. Under. Left. Around. Through, and so forth. 

She spends hours working at her snares and trying to ignore the obvious insufferable bickering between the Careers. The girl from four looks ready to murder the boy from one. 

Katniss is trying not to laugh. Seeing the people with the best chances of winning destroy each other before the games is priceless.

"Careers, huh," Tam sits down next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Snares."

"Nice," he pauses, "Can I sit next to you? I don't want to be targeted by the career tributes because I am sitting alone.”

"Sure," Katniss moves over on the floor, leaving space for Tam.

The two of them don't say much else that first day in training. He's sweet and looks like he is trying to actually learn so for the next day Katniss goes through some of her snares and what is edible with him. 

It is a day later that Tam's thoughts are proven true. The girl from Eight is being picked on by Jasmine, the brunette from One. Katniss thinks her name is Evelyn. It doesn't matter anyway. The truth is that she will likely die in the bloodbath.

However, there are a few tributes who look like they might stand a chance against the Career pack.

Katniss turns her attention from Jasmine and her victim.

The boy from Six is fast. He spends his time racing against the computer and he barely looks winded. He could be a threat is he is chasing her. She would have to fight him at close range. He frowns at Katniss from across the room as if he is reading her thoughts.

The boy from Nine looks like he can camouflage into any field. Not from a disguise but because he can mimic the movement of the swaying grass. He's been watching the Careers too, trying to size them up. He knows that his skills could really be put to the advantage if the arena is a field. It's likely because the last few arenas have been barren.

The girl from Ten is broad-shouldered, built like a tank. She's throwing the medicine balls long distance and working on her accuracy. She's probably been moving cattle her whole life to get like that. She smiles at Katniss from across the room and mouths something she doesn't get.

It isn't until the last day before individual training that Katniss meets the girl from Ten.

The girl idles over to where Tam and Katniss are sitting together, "Katniss, am I right?"

"Who's asking?"

"Cora Gardner, District Ten."

Katniss and Tam continue to work in silence.

It takes a day for Cora interrupt their silence. "I have an idea," the girl says. "I don't know anything about you. But you are better than Ms. Terrible and her band of Careers. I want a pact.”

Katniss raises an eyebrow.

Cora continues nevertheless. “If we meet in the arena we stick together until the final five and take down some careers." 

She motions to Tam who is still sitting next to her. "He can too if he wants."

Katniss looks up at her, "Why do you want this? You said it yourself, you don't know me."

She shrugs, "I don't know, you seem confident. It can't hurt me if we don't meet, can it? Anyway, I'd rather die in other ways than by getting killed by a career. What do you say? Are you in?" 

Cora puts out her hand and Katniss shakes it.

She doesn't know why she made that deal. She doesn't know the girl either but she made a good point. She needs allies.

Cora smiles at her and leaves Katniss behind.

Cora smiles at her one more time before she leaves for her individual assessment the day later.

The moment Katniss walks into individual assessment, she knows something is wrong. The game-makers look angry as if someone told them they were out of line. Katniss doesn't care as long as they pay attention to her.

She steps out and says her name. Immediately afterward she makes a beeline to the bow she had seen at group training.

The bowstring is looser than she is used to. The arrow misses the bullseye.

One of the game-makers snorts.

Katniss scowls at that one then turns back to the targets. She nails every single one from every position.

She faces them and bows, "I hope I was entertaining enough for you."

Katniss makes her exit.

She gets a ten.

Her stylist has her in an ugly, ill-fitting dress for the interview. Typical fashion for District Twelve tributes.

The boy from Seven is attractive and will get a lot of sponsors from his calming presence.

Her interview is up next. 

Effie is fixing her hair, "You look so good! Good luck sweetie." She smiles.

Haymitch is waiting right before she goes on stage, "Stay tough but try to be a little funny, it's all you got, sweetheart."

"Because I definitely have a charming personality," Katniss replies.

Haymitch smirks, "Then fake it."

Caesar Flickerman is just as flamboyant in person as he is on the holo. His flaming orange hair is tied back in a ponytail behind his head.

"Katniss Everdeen, the girl with a scowl, half of the opposite duo from Twelve!"

He's loud too.

To the excitement of the audience, she puts on the scowl he is talking about. 

When the cheers calm down Caesar speaks again, "There she is! Tell me about yourself, Katniss. What makes you frown like that?"

"Caesar, this is just my face."

The audience roars.

Caesar laughs, "I see you have a little sister cheering for you at home."

Katniss nods, "Her name is Prim, and she is six years old. I promised that I would win the game for her."

"How sweet. Did you make that promise to any boys too?"

She coughs, unable to speak. "Just my best friend."

The audience laughs.

"Oh," Caesar starts, "What's his name?"

"Gale Hawthorne. We've known each other for years," She explains, hoping to clear the soon coming fog of "is-she-dating-her-best-friend?"

By now Caesar has noticed her blush, "So you say..."

"Unfortunately we are running out of time," Caesar pouts. He’s a true child on the inside.

"Katniss," he says, "how do you feel about your competition from your district?"

"Tam is a sweet boy. It's a shame we have to compete against each other. If I had known him before this, I think we could have been friends." 

Preparation for the Games is as intense as Katniss expected. She has to put on a medium weight outfit. It looks like the arena is going to be temperate. 

Haymitch said goodbye a few hours ago, but after him, there is no one to send her off.

She takes a deep breath and steps into the tube.

She opens her eyes.

The arena is an island with a few around it and the cornucopia is in the middle of the bay.

This is one of the many times Katniss is glad she can swim. 

As the clock counts down she formulates a plan. A bow sits at the base of the cornucopia, taunting her. She elects to ignore it and focus on the easy things. There is a bag floating in the water in front of her. She'll get that first. There is a plastic bag filled with knives right behind. She'll get that next.

"30."

She turns to look at Tam, who is standing next to her.

He's very upset. The boy is panicking. He probably doesn't know how to swim.

Katniss doesn't know how to fix that. She only learned because her father took her into the forest. Most kids from the Seam don't know how to swim.

She spots Cora, who looks less anxious than Katniss expected, on a podium a few to the left.

"10."

Katniss has to let that slip out of her mind as the gets ready to jump for the bag.

The alarm sounds, and Katniss immediately dives for the two bags. She starts dragging the bag away from the cornucopia.

Over in Careerland, the careers are fighting as Katniss had predicted. It's might just be her lucky break.

She's back at her podium now and is looking for Tam.

She spots him heading to the cornucopia, "What are you doing?"

"Buying you some time!" The boy shouts.

Katniss swims as fast as she can away. She is heading to the big island of the arena archipelago. It'll likely have the most animals and food.

She makes it to the beach. So far, she is alone. 

Katniss makes her way into the tree line. She can't afford to walk alone on the rocky beach. Any tribute could get to her there. She can't risk it yet. There are still way too many tributes for her to feel comfortable taking that chance.

The trees are all deciduous and evergreen. Katniss knows it will likely be really cold at night. So she has to get moving now or deal with the cold nights. Not to mention the mutts that will likely start popping up later.

She keeps walking and walking, making sure she can see the shore through the treeline because it will likely be the easiest path, other than the beach. The shortest route would be through the wooded parts of the islands but the center of the island will probably be filled with traps from the game-makers.

She can see the cornucopia from where she stands on the island. The bloodbath is still ongoing. 

The District Four tributes have left the Career pack and are defending the mouth of the cornucopia. The girl from two is already dead, which surprises her. The careers are supposed to be the strongest.

No cannons have gone off yet because of the bloodbath, but there is carnage in the bay. And she can see Tam's body. The poor kid. He wasn't made for this.

She can hear shouting from the shore. The boy from seven is on the shore, and the girl from eleven is a few yards away from him. The two are them are not close to Katniss by any means, but she doesn't want to take any chances.

Katniss takes this as her time to flee. She quietly jogs deeper into the forest, away from the two of them.

It takes hours, but she thinks it is finally safe to slow down and walk near the shore again. Nine cannons have gone off so far. She knows the girl from Two and Tam, but the others are a mystery. But the more the cannons, the better Katniss's chances are.

Another one fires.

She keeps on walking.

The sun is going down now. Katniss won't take the chance of fighting whatever the game-makers have set for taking them out. If there's nothing, she'll try again tomorrow. 

She needs to go through her bag right now before she'll try to settle down for the night.

The big pocket has a sleeping bag in it. The other pocket has some different types of rope in it. She grabs the plastic bag from where she shoved it into the backpack. It has four knives of various knives of varying sizes. She got lucky.

She'll sleep in a tree for the night. Hopefully, it'll keep her from being seen.

First, she needs to set up some snares.

Thank goodness for her going up into the tree. Another tribute has set up camp half a mile away from her. Katniss can see the smoke in the distance, towards the cornucopia. Whoever it is, they probably won't last the night.

Katniss was right about the game-makers. 

Something is moving in the forest. It's too dark for her to make out exactly what it is, but whatever it is, it isn't good. 

She watches as it leaves her area and moves southeast.

She tries to settle down again. 

Loud music starts playing in the distance. It is time for the showing of the dead. The girl from the girl from Two is first. Then the girl from Three. Both from Five. The boy from Seven. Both from Eight, and the boy from Ten. And it is over.

Katniss knows she is likely safe up here, but she can't truly be sure until morning comes. She lays down her head anyway. It would do her some good to get some rest.

Unsurprisingly, she finds that hard. Adrenaline is still coursing through her veins. It takes a while for something like that to wear off.

A scream sounds out but the cannon doesn't fire. "That's weird," Katniss thinks. She thought that would just be a late-night Career kill. It obviously isn't because she can hear something crashing through the underbrush.

It's coming closer to her. She's glad she chose to sleep with the shiny part of the sleeping bag on the inside.

The crashing is right under her. It is the girl from District Eleven. She's being chased by a large animal. 

Her screams could attract other tributes but she's probably not worrying about that right now. She's running for her life.

She trips and she's lost. The mutt gets to her quickly. Now Katniss is finally able to see it in the moonlight. It's a huge silver wolf with giant teeth and claws. 

The cannon goes off. Nine are gone.

The mutt turns his head as if it can see her. She sits at still as she possibly can, silently begging for it not to eat her.

The wolf drags the body away from her. It left no trace except for the memories in Katniss' head. This time she can finally fall asleep.

Katniss waits to get out of the tree until after there is daylight. She's gotten ready beforehand. Her bag is packed. The sleeping bag is already in her backpack and she's untied her rope from the tree. The biggest knife in the bag is resting on her belt loop. The other three, including the one with a jagged edge, is in her bag.

Once the sun rises she is out of the tree. She wants to continue northwest, from the other tributes. She'd rather be far away than end up a Career's target.

First, she needs to check if any of her snares caught anything last night.

It's the third snare that finally caught something. A little rabbit is caught in the ropes. Katniss puts it out of its misery.

She'll take it with her on her trek. Getting away is too urgent.

By now she has located north, and she is on her way.

So far there is no sign of freshwater other than the beach. And the water at the beach looks very dirty. There may be some springs or streams to the south, but getting to them would be risky. Katniss can try to make a spile if she can find some suitable wood and time to whittle it down.

She's back near the beachfront already. The arena seems to be no bigger than the previous years. There are no islands north of the one she is on but there is one to the east. It seems she is at the edge.

Something is moving in the bushes behind her. 

"I'm dead," Katniss thinks. She went through all of the work to get to the edge of the arena and then she gets killed by a career. It's almost funny.

She ducks down and behind a tree.

A girl steps out from behind a bush. It's Cora from District Ten.

"Oh, thank God that it is you, Katniss."

She's wielding a machete in her left hand. There is a little blood on her right pant leg and her right sleeve, but otherwise, she seems uninjured.

An ally, Katniss has an ally.

"Do you need anything to eat? I have granola bars."

Katniss is shocked. Sure Cora was willing to make an alliance in the training center, but this is the games. They should be killing each other. 

And where did Cora get the granola bars from? District Four had the cornucopia.

She doesn't care too much right now. All she wants to do is to get to the eastern island of the arena archipelago.

Katniss finally says something, "I'm going east to that island. Do you want to come?"

Cora smiles, "Sure."

The swim is a long one. The two girls allowed themselves about an hour for preparation. They brought along branches to grab onto for easier floating. Katniss also had to keep her bag out of the water. 

The closer they get to the island the better it looks. The vegetation that Katniss could see from the big island is big deciduous trees. There is lots of brush under the trees. Perfect for hunting. Birds wheel overhead. It looks like a little slice of paradise.

"Hey Katniss," Cora shouts. "Do you reckon there are any other tributes on the island?"

"No. I was the first one to go in this direction, and no one else is dumb enough to try to make this swim unaided."

"You're so funny," Cora replies sarcastically. "But can you imagine Jasmine making this swim."

"She's strong enough."

Cora snorts, "But she'd be like, 'my hair is ruined!' and then like, screech."

For the first time since the game officially started Katniss smiles, "You right."

"She would flip it first," Katniss adds.

It takes a full hour of swimming for them to reach the other island. One cannon goes off. The island is smaller than Katniss originally thought it would be. There is no spring or stream to be seen. Which is unfortunate, because Katniss is getting dehydrated.

However, the two of them feel safe enough to build a fire for the rabbit.

The fire smolders in its little pit while the rabbit is cooking. They don't want to attract too much attention, so the fire is small and fueled by dry wood and leaves from the top of the island.

They assume they are pretty far from the other tributes. But so far the game-makers haven't tried to push them back to the main island. That is worrying to Katniss because it almost always means the game-makers have something in store for them.

Katniss and Cora set up camp just off the southern shore of the island. It is the least rocky part of the island. Less likely to have snakes.

The sleeping bag can fit both girls but it is uncomfortable and cramped. Katniss picks the tree for easy access. Neither of them is willing to take any chances on the wolf mutts. It's way too risky.

The song plays and today's two dead tributes are in the sky. The girl from Eleven and the boy from Three. Now eleven tributes are gone.

The next day the two scavenge for food and Katniss learns Cora can skin a squirrel almost as easily as she can.  
Katniss receives a gift just after lunch.

Haymitch got them a spile. They can finally drink water other than the water they boiled. Katniss makes a mental note to thank him for that.

They also catch some bigger game for dinner.

It's at lunch that Katniss realizes she can make her own bow. Some of the sinews would make a good bowstring. She's sure that she can find an adequate branch for the bow.

Their lunch is roasting on the fire. It smells absolutely fantastic.

"It's done!" Katniss shouts.

Cora is supposed to be looking for some edible berries. She also said she would be back in a few minutes. But she isn't saying anything.

"Cora!'

She's worried. Cora should have heard her. Something is wrong.

"Katniss!"

It's Cora. She's in trouble.

Her shouting is coming from the forest. Where it is the most dangerous.

Katniss pauses. She could leave her behind. Cora is another tribute after all. Katniss would lose another competitor.

But Cora is not an enemy. She's an ally.

Katniss runs to where the shouting is coming from. Her blood is thumping in her ears. She is ready to fight.

She finally comes upon a little clearing. Cora is laying down on the ground, pinned by the boy from District Nine.

She makes eye contact with Katniss. "Help me," she mouths.

Katniss tackles the boy off of Cora. She's lucky he is her size.

He is struggling against her. His eyes plead for her to let him go. But he was going to kill Cora, and her afterward.

"Katniss, my knife!" Cora is still on the ground, "Here!"

Katniss catches the machete as the District Nine boy grips his hand around her throat. He had taken advantage of her distraction.

He is gone within seconds.

Katniss backs away. The cannon fires. Another tribute is no more.

"He deserved better," Katniss says to Cora, who is still laying on the ground.

"Why?" Cora asks. "He stabbed me with that wooden spear."

Katniss looks her in the eyes, "Do you think he honestly would have done that if he wasn't in the games?"

"No."

Katniss steps toward the boy and whispers something under her breath. She then steps away. "We can go and eat now."

The two of them leave.

Another night passes. The boy from Nine was the only one to go this time. Twelve tributes are gone.

The next day is uneventful. Katniss makes progress with her bow and patches up Cora's leg. Cora catches a fish with the boy's spear.

Katniss tells Cora about Prim and learns Cora has four brothers at home.

"They're just boys. In Ten we don't spend a lot of time outside of work. Much less with other families."

"In Twelve everyone is always mining long shifts. No one spends much time at home unless they are a townie."

Their dinner conversation continues until sundown.

Cora says that her favorite color is the yellow of grass in the fall.

No one died during the day.

The night was set up to be a calm one, but once again Katniss' choice to sleep up in a tree is rewarded. 

Into Katniss' third night in the arena, Cora shakes her awake to loud noises and the shaking of their tree.

"Katniss, something is wrong. The earth is shaking!"

She's right. The ground is shaking beneath their feet and the tree sways with them in it.

"We have to move!"

Katniss is fully awake now and struggling to get out of the sleeping bag. Cora is untying the rope. They're out of the tree as fast as they can.

Two cannons fire.

There's no water on the beach Katniss notices. It is completely dry. She's never seen anything like it.

"Come on!"

Every tree is shaking. The unstable ground makes it hard for the two girls to run. It is moving up and down, left and right, forward and back. Nothing is safe for the two of them.

They continue to run to the top of the island. There are no trees there, so they won't get crushed. 

"Oh my god." Cora is breathless. She is staring in the direction of the beach where a giant wave is coming toward. "That's the biggest wave I have ever seen."

She's standing, frozen in place. Katniss grabs her arm, "We have to run, now!"

Katniss drags a stunned Cora through trees.

The water is coming ever closer with every second. Another cannon fires and the wave is almost over the girls.

Cora's injured leg is slowing them down.

Katniss is running as fast as she can but she is exhausted. The games have pushed her to her limit. She doesn't know much longer she can run.

The wave is over their heads. 

But as the two reach the tip of the island the wave slowly shrinks away. 

They are safe. For now.

Katniss can hear laughter coming from the girl beside her.

"I cannot believe we are alive!" Cora exclaims.

Katniss won't laugh at something like missing death, but she does smile, "We're alive." She thinks for a second, "We should celebrate."

Cora agrees.

The girls stay up until sunrise.

Nine are left. 

Katniss is a little surprised the two tributes from Four would perish in an arena that was practically made for them. 

It is shaping up to be one of the shortest Hunger Games in history. No one is safe. 

Katniss finishes her bow on her seventh day in the arena. 

Cora has received some medicine for her leg from sponsors.

The two girls have been keeping a tally of the tributes that are left.

Both from One, both from Six, the girl from Seven, the girl from Nine, Cora, the boy from Eleven, and Katniss.

Day ten is when the game-makers step it up again. 

The previous days had been uneventful other than the girl from seven dying on day nine.

It starts when Katniss sees something dark in the water.

"Cora!" She shouts, "You might want to come and see this!"

"What is it?"

"Get over here!"

Cora is at her side in seconds. She stares at it and looks at Katniss for an explanation.

Katniss takes some time to think. Only one theory makes sense: "It's some sort of big fish. I don't think it is good news for us if the game-makers are making the waters dangerous. They might want to force a crossing back to the big island to see more action."

"We need to make a raft." Cora supplies, "It will be the easiest way to get past these fish."

"You might be right, but where will we find the supplies?"

Cora smiles, "Don't you have some more knives?"

Cora's plan is to cut branches off of some of the beachside trees to make a large raft. They will use vines from the west side of the island to tie them and shave a slice off the trunk of a fallen tree for the paddles.

Katniss has only one question, "Where did you learn to make a raft?"

"I often had to build fences for the pastures," Cora says, "This is just like that, except with more wood. 

"But if it fails, you can blame our deaths on me."

This marks the first time in the arena that Katniss laughs.

"Deal."

The two girls spend the rest of the day gathering vines and chopping wood. It is laborious and tiring. There is no time to hunt, so both of the girls have granola bars for dinner.

The girl from Nine and the boy from Eleven die that night from what Katniss and Cora guess is an avalanche. They can see it from their camp on the southern shore of the island. Rocks tumble down most of the west side of the big island, creating an explosion of sound that is loud even for the two girls an island away.

Katniss covers her ears and frowns. It looks like someone else had an inter-district alliance.

Seven tributes are left. The girls resume work in the morning.

They spend this day tying the logs together. They take breaks but it feels like they aren't getting anywhere. They are only halfway done with the actual raft, and they still have to make paddles.

The solution is to split up. Katniss will make the paddles and Cora will finish the knot tying.

It is simple, really, but it is painful. Katniss' hands hurt from the repetitive motion of sawing the pieces off the log. It won't be much longer before they start to bleed.

She is almost done by sundown. 

Her hands are absolutely raw by then, but it doesn't matter. She can rest on the raft. 

Cora comes to tell her that she is done with rope tying when Katniss finally finishes sawing off the paddles.

They both heave a sigh of relief to the news. 

But they rest uneasily that night.

When the sun comes out for the morning, it is time for them to leave. They haven't a moment to waste, the game-makers are looking for more carnage.

Packing only takes a few minutes. The girls aren't bringing much other than what is in their bags. The rest of the time is spent saying goodbye to their home.

The water is forboding. It is murky, dark, and deep. Clouds blot out to the sun overhead.

They don't think another tribute will be willing to risk the rain.

"It's time," Katniss says.

The water is so much colder than when they first made the crossing. 

As soon as they get up and on the raft, Katniss knows something is wrong. Something dark is moving through the water. She can safely assume it is one of the fish she saw earlier.

Cora notices too. The other girl looks over to Katniss for confirmation. She receives it. 

The blonde cusses under her breath. She grabs her machete out from her holster on her leg.

But she continues to paddle with Katniss after setting it down. 

Rain starts to fall out of the sky. They are halfway across when the big fish start getting more aggressive. 

It is worrying.

Five minutes later they start to snap.

Worrying won't do either of the girls any good so they continue to paddle their raft.

Three quarters and the fish mutts are leaping out of the water at the girls. 

Seven eighths and the fish are drawing blood.

Fifteen sixteenths and one latches onto Cora and pulls her under the boat. Its sharp teeth insert themselves into her calf, blood spraying out of her tibial artery. Her fingernails scratch at the wooden logs as she tries to make her way out of its grasp.

Katniss screams. It rips its way out of her throat, a pained howl.

A hand is visible under the water. It desperately reaches for her and the edge of the raft.

It never breaks the surface again.

Blood pools on the surface of the water and the fish leave.

The cannon fires.

Katniss screams again. She clamps her hands over her ears in an attempt to block the sound of her thoughts roaring in her head.

And it is over.

She is alone.

She finishes the paddle to shore and finds a hiding place before one of the other tributes arrive, alerted by the noise.

Katniss has made it to the final five.

She woke up to the sound of waves lapping at the cliffs.

Her hiding place is a small seaside cave on one of the cliffs facing the north. 

Today, she doesn't get up. The Gamemakers can make sport of someone else. She has had enough.

She is lying on her back letting cave water drip onto her forehead when she hears the distinctive chime of a sponsor gift.

A gust of wind blows the gift onto her stomach.

Katniss groans.

It is just like Haymitch to foil her plans for the day. That old man!

She sits up to investigate the box.

Haymitch sent her some sort of gold token or coin. Katniss has no idea what it is supposed means to her.

The letter reads:

Katniss,  
We're still rooting for you,  
\- Haymitch 

She stuffs it in her pocket.

Warmth returns to her limbs. Katniss has work to do.

But for now, she'll call it a night.

The boy from one and the girl from six are gone by the next morning. An outer district boy taking down a Career all on his own, two on one. Likely a fight that will be replayed on Capitol television for months.

She leaves her cave that day.

There are only three left. 

The Gamemakers will likely kill her off if she doesn't get in range of the other tributes.

Katniss decides to move southeast and cross the ridge at the center of the isle.

To her surprise, she finds a stream just east of the east of the ridge.

Those wolf mutts are still hanging around. Watching her with their too-human eyes. Unnerving.

Katniss is close enough to the water that they haven't been bothering her. Her main problem is the two other tributes.

She can't seem to find where they are hiding. 

But she can wait another day as long as she is entertaining.

The boy from six is dead by the time she wakes the day after.

It is just Katniss and Jasmine left in the game.

This day may be the last of her life.  
Katniss had decided to confront Jasmine.

She had perhaps heard the other girl rustling about to the south but she might have been mistaken. If she is wrong, it could be the last mistake she will ever make.

Nevertheless, her bag is packed. Her knife is in her belt loop. Her bow is in her hand. She is ready.

The dry breeze blows through her messy braid. 

Katniss does not have to worry about the mutts. The Gamemakers want a showdown, not a mauling.

And then she sees plume of smoke coming from the southwest.

Jasmine didn't seem that dumb. It's probably going to be a trap. But she'll go anyway. She has no choice.

The size of smoke is growing.

Katniss cusses under her breath.

This is the work of the Gamemakers. They are going to force her in the direction of Jasmine.

But she can make this work. She now knows where Jasmine is. And she can follow the stream to her location.

No matter what the Gamemakers think, Katniss knows what she is doing.

She slips into the water and trudges on with the fleeing animals.

The further she forges, the more quiet she wants to be.

Her heart is pounding in her ears.

The crackling of the forest fire is getting louder but she cannot go any faster.

Her legs hurt. She could collapse at any moment. But she can't.

Her path becomes more and more dangerous then further she goes. The stream has become larger. The slope of the hill is getting steeper.

And she falls over a waterfall.

Katniss forgets about how she wanted to be quiet. She screams into the water.

But she's floating in the water.

Her legs take her out of the river and into the forest again.

The fire is almost on her when she hears the shouts of another tribute.

Jasmine must be thinking she's won. 

Katniss doesn't want to correct her yet. She crouches in the bushes at the edge of the pool.

The career crashes into the stream. 

"I've won!" She’s shouting victoriously. "Where's the cannon?" 

Katniss can feel the heat of the fire crawl up her pants and bag as she nocks her bow.

She takes a breath of the smoke the forest fire is putting out. And she lets the bowstring go.

It meets her mark.

Katniss collapses into the fire.

She is lifted out by a Capitol hovercraft.

The Victory Ball is a vibrant thing for supposedly celebrating twenty-three dead children. As with many things in the Capitol, Katniss hates it. A bright and happy thing right after a macabre couple of days.

Those days have been a blur for her. Katniss can't remember a second of her interview. She's seen videos where Caesar asks her the usual questions and Snow gives her the traditional victor crown, this year a crown of thorns.

But today is the day of the ball. Her stylists have been fixing her up for it for the last few days.

Apparently, everyone who is anyone is here. Hundreds of Capitolites and victors are milling about, eating food, watching the highlight reel, dancing.

All of the mentors are there. She assumes it is required, but what really surprises her is Haymitch is sober for the first time she's seen. 

He's talking with a grey-haired man and a few Capitolites that she assumes are sponsors.

"Katniss!" 

She is immediately bombarded by a hug from Effie, "Oh, my Girl on Fire. I just love you! I'm so glad I could be here to celebrate you!" She puts extra emphasis on the "you." 

Katniss admits that makes it less dark than the focus on the Hunger Games.

If she wasn't afraid of being rude to Effie she would have dislodged herself from Effie's fiery wig. But the woman is sweet and Katniss is glad to see someone she knows is at this party that she didn't want.

"Thanks, Effie," Katniss says through her hair.

Effie kisses her on the cheek, "Sweetie I'm so proud of you, I'll be back later." She sighs, "My girl is all grown up."

She hurries off and Katniss is left alone.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Girl on Fire."

The voice is easily recognizable. Finnick Odair, seventeen, winner of the 65th Hunger Games, and the darling beauty of the Capitol.

Because of that she hates him.

"Nice to meet you," She replies.

He pouts and he bats his eyelashes. "It sounds like you aren't that pleased to meet me."

"You certainly are correct." 

"We'll have to fix that," he glances around then takes her by the shoulder, "I have a few things to tell you."

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a piece of a story arc I was working on where Katniss had time to experience the Victor life. I wanted to flesh out the pieces shown in Catching Fire, including her dynamic with Finnick.
> 
> I’m not sure if I will finish the rest so for now this serves as a stand alone.


End file.
